Cord treatment



Oct. 3, 1967 w. H. JOHNSON 3,344,595

CORD TREATMENT Filed Sept. 29, 1965 INVENTOR. WILLIAM H. JOHNSON 'ATFI'ORNEY,

United States Patent 3,344,595 CORD TREATMENT William H. Johnson, Cartersville, Ga., assignor to The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Akron, OhlO, a corporation of Ohio Filed Sept. 29, 1965, Ser. No. 491,229 5 Claims. (Cl. 57-106) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In apparatus for twisting a pair of yarns to form a cord, the cord forming the stem of a Y of which the yarns being twisted form the upper branched arm, a device including reciprocable members which each carry yarn guides so that one yarn of a pair forming a cord can be moved toward or away from the other yarn of the cord in response to starting or stopping of the cord twisting apparatus so as to eliminate kinks or other nonuniformities otherwise occasioned when stopping the yarn twisting apparatus.

The foregoing abstract is not to be taken as limiting the invention of this application, and in order to understand the full nature and extent of the technical disclosure of this application, reference must be made to the accompanying drawing and the following detailed description.

This invention relates to the treatment of cords to improve breaking strength and more particularly is concerned with an improved system of twisting a cord from a plurality of yarns so that kinks will be eliminated and a cord having a uniform twist will result.

In the production of a cord the individual yarns are formed at the desired denier and are twisted in order to hold the mass together in an efficient manner. The yarns are wound on pirns or spools for subsequent use.

During the cord forming operation two or more yarns are twisted together with a twist that is the reverse of the twist initially installed in the individual yarns. A cord thus formed has a fairly well balanced structure and will tend to remain flat when tension loads are removed from it.

One of the ways in which yarns may be combined into a cord is known as Y twisting. As the individual yarns are brought together during the cord forming operation, the yarns form an angle with respect to each other. The resultant geometry takes on the general appearance of a Y, hence the term Y twisting. When the conventional Y twisting of yarns into a cord is carried out the incoming yarns are twisted into a cord wherein the end twist is very uniform over the length of the cord. There are occasions when a non-uniformity is introduced into the completed cord. Such non-uniformities can result in one yarn twisting about itself in such a manner that the overall diameter of the completed cord is greatly increased. Also, the non-uniformity is detrimental in that each individual yarn will not carry its proportionate share of the load when tension is applied to the cord during actual use. The yarn containing the non-uniform twisted knot or kink will elongate thus dumping all the tensile load on the non-kinked yarn or yarns. A cord in which all the yarns do not carry their share of the tensile load will undergo a double-break and cannot compare with the load carrying capabilities of a cord that ruptures with a single break.

It is therefore the primary object of this invention to provide a new method and apparatus for twisting a cord so that non-uniformities are not formed as a result of the twisting operation.

3,344,595 Patented Oct. 3, 1967 Another object of the present invention is to vary the angle of the yarns with respect to each other as they approach the point where they are joined to form a cord.

A further object of the instant invention is to close the angle of the yarns in the Y as the twisting apparatus is coming to a halt and spread the yarns apart when the twisting apparatus is once again put in operation.

Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon closer examination of the following detailed disclosure when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the Y twist cord forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a cord containing a nonuniformity or knot.

As has been pointed out before a knot in a cord is highly undesirable because of its rather bulky nature and more importantly because the cord will not withstand the optimum tensile load. The present invention overcomes the above problem by closing the Y formed by the yarns just before the twisting apparatus is stopped. It has been discovered that a kink forms only when the apparatus has for some reason or other been stopped. When the apparatus is slowing down prior to coming to a complete halt, the Y is closed and as the apparatus is once again started the Y is opened.

In FIG. 1 a typical apparatus is shown which will illustrate how the present invention operates. A simplified creel is shown at 10. Spools or pirns 11 are supported from a framework 12 so that the individual yarns 13 and 14 can be threaded through a common pigtail or guide 15 or under a longitudinal rod (not illustrated). Yarns 13 and 14 are then trained through separate pigtails 16 and 17. The separated yarns are then passed under back delivery roll 18 and trained up over top roll 19, then trained down under front delivery roll 20. The yarns are separated as determined by the distance between pigtails 16 and 17. Yarns 13 and 14 then converge toward each other and intersect at 21. The yarns are then twisted together as they move through a lappet guide 22 and a device such as a traveler and ring (not shown) with a reverse twist to form cord 23. The completed cord 23 is then wound on a twister bobbin such as 24.

When the apparatus stops because of electrical or mechanical failure or is purposely shut down a kink or knot as shown in enlarged form in FIG. 2 will result. One of the yarns such as 13 has the tendency to remain rather straight in its twisted longitudinal path whereas yarn 14 doubles back upon itself and yarn 13 before progressing once again in a uniform manner. It is thus very apparent that the condition as pictorially shown is highly undesirable and can be eliminated by the present invention.

Also shown in FIG. 1 is a base structure 30 that contains spreader bar supports 31, one of which is shown in the drawing. The spreader bar supports are conveniently anchored to the base plate 30 by bolts 32 or any other equivalent fastening means. Spreader bar support 31 flares out in a double bifurcated configuration at the top. Spreader bars 33 and 34 are slidably positioned in the bights or grooves on the top end of spreader bar support 31. A bracket 35 is attached to one end of spreader bar 34. The outstanding leg of bracket 35 is in turn coupled with actuator rod 36 which is bi-directionally movable in and out of actuator 37. Actuator 37 is also anchored to base structure 30. Fluid inlet line 38 which can accommodate either air or liquid "and outlet line 39 are also shown in the drawing. Also attached to spreader bar 34 is cable 40 which is trained around pulley 41 and attached to spreader bar 33. Pulley 41 is supported by spindle 42 which in turn protrudes from the spindle base 43. Base 43 is firmly anchored to base structure 30.

When the twisting apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 is running at normal speed spreader bars 33 and 34 are in such a position so as to keep yarns 13 and 14 spread apart before they come in contact with back delivery roll 18. When the electrical power operating the apparatus is turned off, a solenoid (not shown) acts through a conventional relay which in turn starts the flow of fluid into actuator 37 in such a manner so as to extend actuator rod 36. Since actuator rod 36 is coupled to spreader bars 34 through bracket 35, the entire assembly will move to the right with respect to FIG. 1. It is, of course, evident that as spreader bar 34 moves to the right, spreader bar 33 will move a corresponding distance to the left as a result of the cable 40 which interconnects the parallel oriented spreader bars. Since yarn guides 16 and 17 are anchored in spreader bars 33 and 34, they too will move toward each other thus bringing yarns 13 and 14 together. When the twisting apparatus finally stops the Y will be eliminated entirely thus removing the cause that produces knots and kinks in the twisted cord.

When the twisting apparatus is once again started the solenoid acts inversely thus ultimately causing guides 16 and 17 to move away from each other. Thus the Y is once again formed for the continuation of the twisting operation.

Another feature can be incorporated into the electrical circuitry so that the guides can be spread apart when the twisting apparatus is stopped for creeling.

For convenience only two yarns have been shown; however, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that three or more yarns can be handled by the same equipment.

A rather non-complex mechanism has been chosen to illustrate the present invention, the inventor does not wish to be so limited. Any mechanism that ultimately controls the movement of the spread apart yarns so that the Y is closed as the twisting apparatus is stopped and spreads the guides apart to form a Y when the apparatus is started is within the scope of the present invention.

While certain representative embodiments and details have been shown for the purpose of illustrating the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in this art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A cord twisting apparatus comprising a twist device, a plurality of guide means respectively associated with a plurality of yarns for guiding the yarns into a Y twist configuration for the formation of a cord by said twist device and means responsive to deactivation of said twisting apparatus to halt the movement of yarns therethrough for moving said guide means toward each other so as to remove the Y twist configuration thereby eliminating non-uniformities in the finished cord.

2. In a cord twisting apparatus for twisting into a cord a plurality of yarns using a Y twist configuration, support means for the plurality of yarns, a plurality of yarn guide means respectively associated with said plurality of yarns and positioned remote from the yarn support means, and actuating means responsive to deactivation of said twisting apparatus to halt the movement of yarns therethrough to move said yarn guide means toward each other to remove the Y twist configuration, said actuating means also being operable to move said yarn guide means away from each other in response to activation of said twisting apparatus to begin movement of yarns therethrough.

3. In a cord twisting apparatus for twisting into a cord a plurality of yarns using a Y twist configuration, means for supporting the plurality of yarns, a plurality of yarn guide means respectively associated with said plurality of yarns and supported from movable spreader bars that move in a direction transverse of the yarn direction of movement through said guide means, means responsive to deactivation of said twisting apparatus to halt the movement of yarns therethrough connected to said spreader bars to move them relative to each other thus in turn to move the yarn guide means toward each other so as to remove the Y twist configuration, the last mentioned means further being responsive to activation of said twisting apparatus to begin movement of the yarns therethrough to move said spreader bars relative to each other and thus move said yarn guide means away from each other to impart a Y twist configuration to the yarns.

4. In a cord twisting apparatus for twisting into a cord a pair of yarns using a Y twist configuration including a creel mounting individual spools of the yarns and a set of delivery rolls adapted to receive said pair of yarns with said yarns being laterally separated, means for removing said Y twist configuration when the apparatus is stopping comprising a pair of guide rings disposed between said creel and said delivery rolls each adapted to receive a yarn from said creel, a pair of members slidable in opposite directions, said pair of guide rings being mounted respectively on said pair of members.

5. The method of twisting a cord including the steps of:

(1) training a plurality of yarns from a creel each through an individual guide,

(2) uniting the yarns into a cord using a Y twist configuration,

(3) moving the yarns toward each other to remove the Y twist configuration as the twisting is stopping,

(4) moving the yarns apart to reinstate the Y twist configuration when the twisting is started, thus preventing the occurrence of a non-uniformity in the completed cord.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1957 Parker et a1. 57-106 12/1963 Jacobs et al 5791 X 

1. A CORD TWISTING APPARATUS COMPRISING A TWIST DEVICE, A PLURALITY OF GUIDE MEANS RESPECTIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH A PLURALITY OF YARNS FOR GUIDING THE YARNS INTO A Y TWIST CONFIGURATION FOR THE FORMATION OF CORD BY SAID TWIST DEVICE AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO DEACTIVATION OF SAID TWISTING APPARATUS TO HALT THE MOVEMENT OF YARNS THERETHROUGH FOR MOVING SAID GUIDE MEANS TOWARD EACH OTHER SO AS TO REMOVE THE Y TWIST CONFIGURATION THEREBY ELIMINATING NON-UNIFORMITIES IN THE FINISHED CORD. 